Validity of termination under statutory employment rules and claim for continued remuneration or severance pay

The Federal Labour Court (BAG) reversed the Landesarbeitsgericht’s judgment, upholding the lower court’s decision and dismissing the plaintiff’s appeal, thereby ordering the plaintiff to bear the costs of the second and third instances. The dispute concerned a claim for continued remuneration and/or severance pay, where the plaintiff argued that their employment relationship had not been terminated on December 31, 2010, due to allegedly ineffective termination notices. The court held that the defendant had validly terminated the employment contract pursuant to §§ 613a, 631 BGB, finding that the statutory requirements for termination of an employment relationship were met and that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate a legal basis for continued payment after the effective termination date.